Open Letter from the International Research Community
We, researchers and educators dedicated to advancing understanding of forced migration, express our concern about the on-going global forced migration crises and the inadequate response to the largest number of displaced people since World War II.
Recognizing and reaffirming every human being’s right to seek asylum, we hereby:
- call on governments to develop refugee determination processes that are timely, fair and treat every claimant with dignity;
- call on governments to refrain from violent policies and practices that aim to “deter” people from crossing their borders;
- call on governments to proactively seek out creative solutions, such as temporary documents, to facilitate transnational family sponsorship and family reunification;
- call on governments of wealthy countries to substantially increase the number of refugee resettlement spaces;
- call on refugee-hosting communities and governments to facilitate access to basic social services for asylum seekers and refugees;
- call on individuals, the private sector and governments to provide more funding to support forced migrants and refugee-hosting areas, particularly in the poorest countries; and,
- call on local, national and international policy-makers and service providers to base discretionary decision-making on evidence and humanitarian considerations.
CLICK HERE if you are interested in signing on to this letter.
KJ
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